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Press Releases
Mar. 23, 2018
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo community is celebrating the arrival of a 36-year-old male Asian elephant named Spike. read press... read press release
Mar. 13, 2018
Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute have found that poaching is an emerging crisis for Asian elephants in Myanmar. They published their findings March 13 in PLOS ONE.... read press release
Mar. 08, 2018
A well-known prehensile-tailed porcupine named Clark died March 7 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Clark had developed intermittent wheezing and a suspected upper-respiratory tract infection... read press release
Mar. 01, 2018
A team of reproductive scientists, veterinarians and panda keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute performed an artificial insemination on giant panda Mei Xiang... read press release
Feb. 01, 2018
Hoofstock keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) are mourning the loss of Raylan, a 4-year-old male Hartmann’s mountain zebra who was humanely euthanized yesterday.... read press release
Jan. 18, 2018
Once common along highland streams in western Costa Rica and Panama, the variable harlequin frog, Atelopus varius, is endangered throughout its range, decimated by a disease caused by the amphibian... read press release
Jan. 05, 2018
Ms. Chips, a two-toed sloth and longtime resident of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, died overnight Jan. 2. She was 46 years old. The median life expectancy for female two-toed sloths in human care... read press release
Jan. 04, 2018
For the first time since 1948, the Great Cats habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is once again home to an Amur tiger, a 10-year-old male named Pavel.... read press release
Jan. 04, 2018
Hoofstock keepers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are mourning the loss of Yvonne, a 15-year-old female Hartmann’s mountain zebra who was humanely euthanized Dec. 31, 2017. The... read press release
Dec. 22, 2017
There is a brand new band of brothers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. A coalition of two male cheetahs made their debut at the Cheetah Conservation Station yesterday, Dec. 21.... read press release
Dec. 21, 2017
A new study from the Smithsonian and partners presents the most comprehensive evolutionary family tree for the eight known species of pangolins—one of Earth's most evolutionarily unique animals and... read press release
Dec. 13, 2017
A new study from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is helping to make headway in an area of animal management that has historically proven challenging: the breeding of cheetahs under... read press release
Dec. 06, 2017
ZooLights visitors will have the opportunity to attend GRUMP, a European-style outdoor market, Dec. 15, 16 and 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m... read press release
Nov. 30, 2017
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute hatched two Guam rail chicks earlier this month. The hatchings are a boon for the species, which is currently classified as “extinct in the wild” by the... read press release
Nov. 20, 2017
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Director Dennis Kelly plans to retire after a temporary appointment as the interim president of Smithsonian Enterprises. Effective Monday... read press release
Nov. 15, 2017
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo, in collaboration with CulturalDC, will host Washington, D.C.’s first mobile art gallery during ZooLights, powered by Pepco, the Zoo’s annual free holiday lights... read press release
Nov. 03, 2017
For the first time in nine years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is making preparations for the highly anticipated birth of a critically endangered western lowland gorilla.... read press release
Nov. 01, 2017
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, and the Embassy of New Zealand in the United States are asking animal lovers to help name an endangered female brown kiwi... read press release
Oct. 30, 2017
As global warming, acidification and disease threaten a healthy future for the world’s coral reefs, conservationists in recent years have turned to the lab to study advanced reproductive methods,... read press release
Oct. 26, 2017
ZooLights—powered by Pepco—at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is wilder than ever and a perfect holiday event for everyone in the family. Now in its 11th year, the annual free lights festival twinkles... read press release